Gun violence stole headlines in ’24’s second half
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
While good news overshadowed bad news during 2024’s first half, the second half saw a 180-degree turnaround. Gun violence led the way, as eight shooting incidents occurred in the city between July 1 and December 30.
Those incidents included the deaths of three local men and the wounding of four others. Numerous occupied houses were shot into along 4th Avenue, and shots were fired into another occupied house.
The outbreak of violence led Police Chief Chuck Brooks to propose a citywide curfew. A public hearing on the curfew is set for 5:30 p.m. next Thursday, January 23, at Atmore City Hall Auditorium.
In other June-December news involving crime and the courts:
*A Florida jury found an Atmore woman not guilty of aggravated battery in a 2023 incident at a Bratt, Fla. home.
*Institute for Justice announced it had filed a federal lawsuit against DA Steve Billy, Sheriff Heath Jackson and four sheriff’s deputies on behalf of Sherry Digmon, Don Fletcher, Ashley Fore and Cindy Jackson.
*A 19-year-old Mobile man, charged with the July 2023 shooting death of an Atmore man, was released from jail after his bond was reduced from $500,000 to $75,000.
*A Fountain Correctional Facility officer was arrested and fired after she tried to smuggle 50 cigars and two bottles of Gatorade laced with alcohol into the facility.
*An Atmore man who served a 10-year sentence for robbing an Atmore bank, then five more years on supervised probation, was re-arrested and spent several days in jail after federal authorities failed to file notification that he had completed his sentence.
*A local couple was jailed after police found not only methamphetamine, but also three children — each under the age of 4 years — who were living in squalid conditions, including one who slept near the couple’s drug stash.
*DNA from a cigarette butt led to the arrest of an Atmore man for the robbery and attempted robbery of two stores in Florida.
*A local man was arrested after pornographic images of prepubescent girls were discovered on his phone.
*A local barber was accused of sexually assaulting a young woman over a 9-year period.
*Atmore police announced the addition of two new K-9 officers, Bama and Bantu.
*A former U.S. Army explosives disposal technician was arrested after two bomb-like devices were found inside his home.
*A sheriff’s office K-9 officer died after his handler left him in a patrol vehicle for several hours.
*Many locals had their food stamp cards “hijacked” electronically, including one whose food allowance was spent in Philadelphia.
*A local pastor who also worked as a counselor at Fountain Correctional, was arrested after a package containing drugs, weapons, tobacco and other contraband was found under the bumper of his truck.
*A Pensacola, Fla. man was sentenced to 60 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of the 2020 murder of an Atmore man.
*An Atmore woman was arrested after she passed a package of pills to her son, an inmate at Fountain Correctional.
*DA Steve Billy announced his retirement, effective December 31, then rescinded the decision.
*Four convicted killers were executed at Holman Correctional Facility, outside Atmore, during the year’s second half, bringing to six the number of death warrants enforced there during the year.
Business, industry
There was good and bad news on the economic development front. Coastal Growers, which implemented a massive layoff in June, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and effectively ceased operations while farmer-owners seek a buyer to take over the company’s state-of-the-art peanut shelling plant.
In other news from the world of local business, industry and economic development:
*Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI) was awarded a $726 million grant to install two electric vehicle charging stations near I-65.
*WastePro began collection of household garbage within the city.
*Alabama 21 (Main Street) was resurfaced through downtown. A Mobile contractor did the work at night.
*Atmore Community Hospital (ACH) was awarded a $2 million equipment replacement grant.
*Atmore Municipal Airport was awarded two FAA grants to pay for six newly built hangars.
*American Legion Post 90 officials announced they would try to sell the building that has served as post headquarters for 74 years.
*ACH Administrator Brad Lowery resigned
*City officials were awarded two grants totaling more than $1.1 million for purchase of future industrial sites and to mitigate a Trammell Street drainage problem that has caused three local commercial buildings to sink.
*PCI named Steven Stewart as the tribe’s new Chief Information Officer.
Education
*Danny Benjamin, who had represented District 2 on the county school board for 36 years, was defeated by Greg Dawkins in November’s General Election.
*Escambia County Middle School (ECMS), Rachel Patterson Elementary School (RPES) and Huxford Elementary (HES) each showed gains on their respective state report cards. ECMS was one of the state’s 25 most improved schools.
*Atmore Public Library’s summer reading program drew hundreds of youngsters.
*Randy Valandingham was named principal of Atmore Christian School.
*Brooks Memorial Baptist Church’s Mission Academy, a microschool, began its second year of operations.
*Escambia County High School’s new athletic fieldhouse was dedicated.
*ECHS was awarded an Alabama Power Company Foundation grant to help boost the school’s broadcast class and to help restart what was once a strong choral program.
Honors, awards
There was good news in the final six months of the year, too, as numerous students from Atmore excelled at various colleges and universities, and numerous locals were honored or reached milestones during that period. These included:
*Ana Chesley Robinson, a student at Escambia Academy (EA) and ECHS student Ariyana Gabrielle Young were named Good Citizens Award recipients by Daughters of the American Revolution.
*Local archers, most of them from PCI’s archery team, won 11 medals at the Alabama State Games.
*The Rev. Harold Askew retired after 28 years as pastor of New Pleasant Hill Baptist Church.
*Atmore Fire Chief Ron Peebles (Career Chief of Year), Atmore Firefighter Louis English (Career Firefighter of Year) and Capt. Jerry Gehman of Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department (John Martin Lifetime Achievement Award) were honored by the county’s volunteer firefighters.
*Samantha “Sam” Bennett retired after a 26-year career with the city police department.
*Nancy Lowrey was named to Positive Maturity’s Top 50 Over 50 list.
*Nancy Karrick was named Main Street Hero by Main Street Atmore, which won five awards from Alabama Main Street. Karrick later won Atmore Lions Club’s Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, the highest honor bestowed upon local club members by Lions Club International.
*Atmore attorney Charles R. Godwin was honored by the Alabama Bar Association for 50 years of practice.
*Escambia County Extension Office graduated seven new Master Gardeners.
*Caliente McCants and Ziyonah Moye were named Homecoming King and Queen, respectively, at ECHS. Ana Chesley Robinson was named Homecoming Queen at EA.
*Chris Rutherford took the oath of office as the first PCI tribal member to serve as chief of police.
Events
Numerous events drew thousands to the community, especially its rejuvenated downtown. Among those were:
*A crowd estimated at 5,000 flocked downtown for the Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Twilight Christmas Parade, which featured nearly 100 entries.
*More than 10,000 people from across the country attended PCI’s 52nd annual Thanksgiving Day Pow Wow.
*The 20th Taste of the South, a competition between local cooking teams, drew an estimated 1,000 people to Heritage Park.
*Hundreds attended a concert by American Idol runner-up Will Moseley and his band, the first major entertainment event at Boxcar Willie Park.
*Dozens of youngsters and their parents or guardians attended the 4th Patterson Street Fun Day, an event that puts residents, especially young ones, together with police officers and firefighters in a positive setting.
*About 30 individuals, most of them women, participated in Women of Distinction’s 20th annual Cancer Walk.
*The city’s annual Autism Awareness Walk included dozens of walkers.
*The 32nd annual Williams Station Day celebration drew an estimated 4,000 people to Pensacola Avenue.
*Hundreds attended the city’s first Snow Day, a pre-Christmas event held at Boxcar Willie Park, and more than 100 attended the annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony and Jingle Bell Walk.
*More than 1,000 children of all ages and more than two dozen businesses participated in the Chamber’s pre-Halloween Trick-or-Treat on the Street event.
Other news
Also making headlines in the second half of 2024:
*Dr. Sheldon Harigel, who practiced medicine here for 13 years, announced he and his wife were moving away.
*Local library director Hope Lassiter announced that no one under the age of 18 would be allowed to check out books unless in the presence of a parent or a signed parental consent form is on file.
*EA canceled the last two games of its football season after injuries reduced the team’s strength to 12 players. The move forced EA to forfeit those games and a guaranteed spot in the AISA playoffs.
*A burn ban was implemented within the city, and a wildfire advisory was issued in all 67 Alabama counties as a drought continued through the summer.
*A local woman was bitten by a rabid fox.
*An Atmore man lost his life in a Florida vehicle crash.
*Fire destroyed a Fennell Street house.
*Former Atmore Mayor Dr. Rodney Owens passed away.